28 to 31 Dec, 2024 Bob & Margaret’s place, Dawesville, WA

Sat, 28^th

Clear sky, warming up quickly after a cool night.

Went for our walk.

Chatted the morning away then it was lunch time.

The boys headed off to Perth Motorplex for the High Limit International Sprintcar meeting which is over 3 nights. There are a few American’s racing and the winner gets $100,000. Bob has his mobility scooter as his knee is still healing. Margaret and I will go the last night.

Margaret and I got out the jigsaw we gave her for Christmas and go started on it outside on the verandah with a lovely breeze blowing.

Worked on it till drinks then we had our dinner and watched a couple of TV shows. One was about the Glacier Express train in Switzerland - amazing and you get to see more of the country with the drone shots etc then if you were on the train.

The boys arrived back at 11pm. They had a good night. The sprintcars certainly put on a good show. The support class were speedcars. Gavin was there too and sat with them. There was also a Jet Car display which wasn’t too bad.

 

 

Sun, 29^th

No wind and overcast this morning.

Malcolm joined us for our walk. We got to Melros Beach and he decided to walk back along the beach while we continued on to the end. When we got back there was no sign of Malcolm so I rang him. He missed the exit off the beach and had walked down to Florida Beach and then saw the golf course and turned around. He got more exercise than he bargained for!

Margaret and I continued with our jigsaw while we all chatted the morning away.

After lunch the boys headed off again. This time it was Modified Sedans with the Sprintcars.

Margaret and I finished the jigsaw. Stayed cloudy all day which made it feel cooler.

Had drinks then relaxed watching a few TV programs while we had dinner. Very windy outside.

The boys had another good night. There was a drone display which was amazing Steve said. Bob managed to roll his mobility scooter on the kerbing but luckily he didn’t get hurt.

 

 

Mon, 30^th

Clear sky and windy this morning.

Rang Griffo to wish him a happy birthday for today.

Off on our walk again - hope this is helping the scales read lower!

Malcolm’s brother-in-law Phil and son Daniel are in town for the Sprintcars tonight so they came and picked him up to have lunch together. They will meet us at the Motorplex later.

Started a new jigsaw till lunch time.

Got dressed - taking coats etc as it still gets quite cool in the wind.

Malcolm was there before us and where they sat last night was already full - need space for Bob’s scooter. Found a clear area at one end near the big screen so we met him there. The wind is very strong - glad we have chin straps for our hats!

Went for a wander with the boys to the pits. On the other side is the drag strip - looks like some tractors are ready to race!

Headed down into the pit area.

This is a Coney replica. They put a cone out on the track as an indicator for the drivers and used to have a rope to pull it back. Now it sits on a remote controlled car and has a big following - t-shirts etc.

Certainly is some money involved with all the rigs here.

Formula 500s were the support class tonight. This will bring back memories of Steve’s racing days. They look little against the sprintcars.

Drag car on display.

I left the boys to continue wander and headed back to Margaret at the chairs.

The boys came back. It’s a long wait for the racing but you need to come early for a spot. They have had over 9,000 people the last 2 nights. We watched the water truck go around and around. Some sprintcars came out and did a few laps to settle the track. Still very windy but that is keeping the heat down.

Then the Formula 500s came out - no warm up lap for them. Just straight into the race. I remember that sound! A couple of crashes but nothing terrible.

It was funny watching the little push cars zoom about when the Sprintcars came out. I thought there was going to be a crash when these three tried to cross the track as the cars were warming up.

Then they formed up and the race was on. I had forgotten how loud they are.

There was a lap dash race to determine the pole position winner which ended up being a WA local from Geraldton so the audience was very happy. Tonia and Zeva arrived so we chatted with them before they headed around to where Gavin had put their chairs.

Then we watched skydivers work their way down to land on the track. Quite amazing with the very strong wind we are having.

More racing then the sun set. The main lights were turned off and we watched a fabulous fireworks display. Now we don’t have to go into town to watch the fireworks tomorrow night for New Year.

They got everyone to shine their phone torches at the end which looked very impressive.

The lights came back on and the Sprintcars went around in their formation lap.

Then final race began.

Unfortunately the pole sitter ended up 3^rd, another Aussie was 2^nd and an American, Kyle Larson, went home with all the money. There were a few stoppages which bunched them all up of course and the front guys were lapping the slower ones which makes for interesting viewing as they try to get past.

Great night. We slowly packed up, said bye to Phil & Daniel and headed back to the car with Malcolm. Slowly through the traffic line up and back onto the highway and home. Steve likes Bob’s car with cruise-control and lane assist as he is doing all the driving at the moment with Bob’s knee out of action.

 

 

Tues, 31^st

Clear blue sky with a light breeze as we ended the year with another walk. This time we just walked to Melros Beach then back up and along to Coles so I could pick up the meat for dinner tonight. Malcolm came too as he wanted to get a bottle for red from the shop.

Margaret had made scones for morning tea and we chatted away while Margaret and I worked on our jigsaw.

Margaret showed Malcolm her pianola. She pulled the boards off so we could see the workings. Amazing how it all works.

Dan and Fran videochatted with me and Sophia showed me her two front teeth. She is such a happy girl. Fran had posted a video of her laughing at Dan when he pulled a cloth off his face. Such an infectious laugh we just have to join in.

Drinks upstairs - lovely temperature. I made my special chicken wings, Margaret did her yummy deep fried roast vegies and some corn on the cob. Steve cooked the rest of the BBQ. We cracked open the bubbly and declared 2024 was a good year. Lovely to be able to spend the end of it with friends.

Yummy passionfruit champagne jelly with my cheesecake and icecream to finish off the meal.

9pm came - midnight for everyone in Tas, Vic, NSW. We could just see the top of the early fireworks going off on Mandurah foreshore. 10pm was midnight for the Qlders. We got to 11pm here then we were all getting sleepy from the busy few nights and of course a few drinks. Headed down to the camper for our showers then we heard some people counting down to midnight so we wished each other a happy new year and went to bed.